Childhood Friends
by Tehri
Summary: Juushirou meets his whirlwind of a best friend for the very first time after getting lost. Based on a swedish fairytale!


_**Author's Note**: This story is based on an actual swedish fairytale called "The princess who wasn't allowed to look in a mirror" (crude translation, I know, I suck at that. The swedish title is "Prinsessan som inte fick spegla sig"). This fairytale is recited near the end of this story. I wish to point out that I did not write it at all. Also, a big disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way whatsoever!_

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It was a beautiful summer day; the sun was shining, there was not a single cloud on the sky, and the flowers were blooming. And Ukitake Juushirou had gone for a little walk. He was well aware of that his mother thought he should rest a bit more, but he already did feel a lot better after the last attack. So surely it would be alright for him to be out? He smiled a bit to himself as he walked along the road, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that his siblings didn't spot him. Looking up at the sky, he thought that the weather couldn't be more perfect on the 11th of July. It was actually the first day this summer that he felt good enough to go outside. His family had been fussing over him all the time and he felt that it was about time that he got out a little bit. He had been out for just a little while a week earlier, but he had quickly gone back inside, after seeing the strange looks he got from people. He was well aware of that he looked strange to people, with his white hair and pale skin. They weren't used to seeing people like that.  
As he kept walking, he soon came to a road he hadn't even noticed before; it ran through a forest with fairly large trees. And curious as he was, he started to follow it.

"I wonder where I'll come if I keep following this road", he said to himself. "But... Maybe I shouldn't go too far. I don't want to lose my way..."

After walking a bit further, he saw a rather pretty young woman walk along the road. She wore simple clothes and no shoes and she carried a basket in her hand, humming a happy tune as she walked. Juushirou hesitated a little bit, but then waved at her.

"Ah... Excuse me", he called.

The woman blinked and looked at him, a warm smile lighting up her entire face.

"Should you really be walking out here", she asked and crouched down a little bit. "You don't look very healthy, and children like you shouldn't wander around alone."

He couldn't help but smile back at her, feeling a little encouraged by her way of talking to him like he was a completely normal boy.

"I was just a bit curious, and wondered if you could tell me", he replied. "I live quite near here, but I'm rarely away from my home, so I haven't seen this road before. Where does it lead?"

The woman chuckled.

"Oh my, you don't know that", she asked and tilted her head. "There's a house down by a lake over there. It belongs to the Kyouraku-family."

Juushirou blinked. Although being young, he had heard that name before.

"That high-ranked noble family", he asked carefully, and the woman nodded eagerly.

"Yes, that family", she chuckled. "They use it as a summerhouse, from what I know, so they're not always there. But I'm fairly certain they're there right now, and they have their sons there too."  
Juushirou tilted his head, his hazel eyes peering pensively at the woman as she continued.

"The second son looks like he's about your age", she said. "I've seen him a few times already this week. A decent boy, but he can be rather lazy. They have trouble keeping him by the house; he's always out looking for someone to play with."

"Oh." Juushirou smiled. "I see. Well, thank you for telling me. It was very kind of you."

He bowed a little bit, which made the woman laugh and pat him on his head.

"Now, don't bow to me like that", she said, eyes twinkling. "You're a good kid, you know. Polite and all that. But you don't bow to all people you meet, especially not me." She winked at him. "And be careful if you decide to go and have a look at the house. It's rather far. If you go just to the side of the road, you'll find berries you can eat if you get hungry, but don't stray too far. Too easy to get lost."

Juushirou laughed.

"I'll be careful", he promised, and saying goodbye to the woman, he continued down the road.

The sun was now in the middle of the sky, and the heat was starting to feel very intense. But Juushirou quickly found comfort in the shade of the trees where he now walked and picked berries. Soon, he started to wander off among the trees to seek more berries, but he kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure that he didn't stray too far.

"I can probably continue walking here", he told himself. "As long as the road is within my sight, I can't get lost."

But the road had many turns. And there were so many berries to eat, and they tasted so very sweet. Soon, without even knowing it, he had gone all too far away, and when he attempted to find his way back to the road, he quickly found that he didn't have anything to go on. In every direction, it was the same: trees, trees and more trees. How on earth would he get out? After searching for a while, he sat down by a small stream and cried. Why, oh, why did he have to be so damned curious? Why did he ever start to follow that road in the first place? Why had he started to wander away from the road? As if there were no turns at all on any road! He sobbed and curled up, hiding his face in his hands.

"I'm an idiot", he cried. "At this rate, I'll never find my way back to the road, and I'll never get back home either!"

But while he sat there and cursed his stupidity, he suddenly heard a clear voice say:

"Hey. What are you crying about?"

He blinked and looked up, seeing a rather tall boy with wavy brown hair and twinkling brown eyes standing there and looking at him with a wide smile on his face.

"I see you've tasted those berries", the boy said and laughed as he sat down on a small rock. "They're really good, aren't they?"

"Ah... Yes... They are..." Juushirou wasn't sure about what he should be saying. Here he was, out in the forest, and suddenly there was a boy?

"Why are you out here", the boy asked curiously and peered at him.

Juushirou twisted a little bit.

"I... I thought I'd head down the road and have a look at the house by the lake", he murmured, bringing an even wider smile to the boy's face.

"Oh! The one belonging to the Kyouraku-family", he said eagerly. Juushirou nodded. "But why would you want to go there?"

"Well, I've heard there's a rather decent boy there", the white-haired boy replied carefully. "A-and I've heard that... that he's looking for a playmate. And... I thought that maybe... I could help him choose..."

A chuckle, and the boy moved a little closer.

"Oh, I understand. What if he has already chosen a playmate, then?"

"Well... I suppose I can only be happy for him, then... "

The boy grinned and poked at Juushirou's shoulder.

"Well, I'll tell you something", he said. "It's that boy's birthday today. And a little bird just told me that he's already found his choice. Can you guess who?" He poked at the white-haired boy's forehead. "He chose you."

Juushirou just stared as the boy leaned back a little.

"You see, I'm Kyouraku Shunsui", he beamed happily. "I've been looking for a playmate for a while, and since it's my birthday, I think it's only fair that I get to choose."

Staring down at his feet, Juushirou felt himself blush a little.

"But... Kyouraku-sama", he said quietly. "Doesn't it bother you that I'm... that I look so strange...?"

For a moment, Kyouraku stared. Then, he started to laugh, loudly and happily; Juushirou thought it reminded him of his little brother's laugh, so loud and lively.

"Did you lose your mind as well as your way", Kyouraku asked. "You're not strange! You're actually rather pretty, like some girls! You've just got a unique appearance!" He moved over to Juushirou and crouched down. "In case you don't believe me, have a look. I don't have a mirror in my pocket, but I believe that my eyes will do."

Almost instinctively, the white-haired boy leaned away. The only ones who normally came that close were those in his own family. But this boy belonged to a noble family, and he was not supposed to even be near a boy such as Juushirou.

"That's just silly, Kyouraku-sama", he tried.

Immediately, the boy's grin was exchanged with a frown. Yet another poke at Juushirou's forehead.

"Don't call me that", he chided gently. "Once is alright, but now, either call me Kyouraku-kun, or Shunsui. Or Shun, for that matter. My brother likes to call me that. Besides, my mother always says that eyes are the mirrors of the soul. And if I can read your gaze just right, you're happy right now, if a little bit nervous." Once again, the grin appeared, and he stood up. "What's your name?"

Juushirou bit his lip.

"I... I'm Ukitake", he said quietly. "Ukitake Juushirou..."

Shunsui, as the boy wanted to be called, blinked and stared at him.

"... Are you the fourteenth son", he said, sounding as surprised as he looked. And Juushirou couldn't help but smile at him.

"It's a common mistake", he said. "I'm the oldest. I have four younger siblings, and there's one more on the way."

Shunsui grinned again and held out his hand to help Juushirou up.

"Well, come on", he chuckled. "I'll show you the way back to the road. I know this forest as the palm of my own hand."

Carefully, the still fairly confused Juushirou took the young noble son's hand.

"You know what, Juu?"

He blinked, seeing how the grin on the other boy's face grew even wider.

"I think you're my new best friend!"

And with that, they hurried off, the noble boy dragging the confused and lost child with him. As they came out on the road after a while (via a route that Juushirou thought painfully obvious, so he cursed his stupidity yet again), the shadows of the trees had gotten long. Realising that he had been gone for far too long, Juushirou excused himself and hurried away down the road, back home. But he hadn't gotten far when he felt the familiar pain shoot through his chest, and coughs forced their way up through his throat. Gasping and coughing, he stumbled and fell down. As he fought to get himself under control, he heard someone cry out in alarm, and then felt a pair of hands grab him and help him sit up.

"Juu-kun, are you alright?!"

"D-don't call me that... Please... K-Kyouraku-sama..."

He coughed again, but allowed the other boy to touch him and keep him steady. Luckily, it was just normal coughing this time... When it was finally over, Juushirou shivered and took a deep breath. Knowing that Shunsui sat behind him, he leaned back a little bit. A gentle hand touched his cheek and made him turn his head a bit.

"Are you alright?" Shunsui peered intently at the other boy, worry evident in his face.

Juushirou just smiled weakly and nodded.

"I'm alright", he whispered hoarsely. "It's normal. I... I was born with a weak body... S-so..."

The gentle hand gave him a pat on the head, and the next moment he got hauled to his feet, firmly supported by Shunsui.

"I'll help you home", the boy said, his brown eyes not once leaving Juushirou's. "It's obvious you don't want to be too late, but if you start coughing like that again, it'll just be worse if you're alone."

Despite the pale and weak boy's protests, Shunsui resolutely started to help him back home. Juushirou felt almost a bit embarrassed when he faced his parents, both of them fussing over him and asking him what he was thinking and why he had gone out at all. They didn't even seem to notice Shunsui until Juushirou got to explain that he was alright thanks to the other boy. His parents smiled and thanked the young noble boy to no end, and Shunsui just laughed and explained that he wouldn't leave his new best friend just like that.

"It just wouldn't be right", he said happily. "But I hope you won't mind if I come to play with him tomorrow again, if he's fit enough for it."

The mother looked a bit hesitant, but Juushirou smiled.

"Please, mother", he said (or more, begged). "I am alright, so please, can he? I promise I'll be careful."

"Oh, don't give me that look", she sighed and fondly trailed her hand through her son's hair. "Of course, if it is alright." She looked at Shunsui again and smiled warmly, and her husband chuckled and tousled Shunsui's hair the way a father would.

"Anyone's son who helps and supports my boy is my son as well", he said. "And always welcome in my house."

Juushirou was certain that he had never enjoyed a summer more. But all good things do come to an end, and already as the leaves started to slowly turn yellow and fall from the trees, Juushirou went to see his friend again. As usual, he waited a short way in on the road, sitting just by the side. But Shunsui didn't show up. Instead, he once again heard that happy tune, and as he looked up, he saw the same woman he had met that day in July come wandering. She smiled as she saw him.

"Well, there's the little playmate", she chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

Juushirou looked down again.

"I don't understand", he said quietly. "I can't say he's never late, but now..."

Her smile dropped, and with a quiet sigh she walked over to him and took his hand.

"They went back home, dear", she said softly. "I saw them leave this morning. Now, don't think that he wanted to go, they did have an awful difficult time catching him since he knows the forest better than they do..."

Juushirou bit his lip. One summer. Was that really all? As the woman calmly started to lead him home, he wondered if this was really the first and last time he'd ever have a real friend, someone who would be there for him every day, no matter what. But he sighed, silently. Perhaps it was just no use to dwell on it.

"If you see him again, it'll be as the son of a noble, the son he's actually supposed to be", the woman said gently as she parted ways with him at his house.

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Years later, a young man with white hair and hazel eyes stopped by that very same road, smiling faintly as he looked into the forest and remembered how he had met the best playmate a boy could have.

"No use to dwell on memories", he quickly reprimanded himself. "He's the son of a high-ranked noble. And you're not. But cheer up! You've got a whole life ahead of you, Ukitake Juushirou, and you actually got into the Shinigami Academy. You can finally help your family in some way. And you do have some way to travel, so you'd better get going now..."

The road he took led him over a noble family's land. He couldn't quite remember which family, but nonetheless, he thought it best to hurry. Along the road, he found the same kind of sweet berries that grew in the forest where he had met Shunsui, and he eagerly ate some. After a while, he decided to take a shortcut over a meadow, but as he hurried across he felt his foot get caught in something, and he fell with a loud yelp, feeling how his foot twisted in a fairly painful way. He bit back the tears that rose in his eyes at the pain, and cursed his own clumsiness.

"S-stupid", he hissed. "Shouldn't have... Oh, I should have stayed on the road..."

As he sat there, muttering to himself, he suddenly heard a rather deep voice just behind him.

"Hey there. What are you crying about?"

Slowly, he turned his head, blinking as he found himself looking up at a tall youth with wavy brown hair, deep brown eyes and a lazy smile. The young man held out a hand to help him up, and he took it.

"I see you've tasted those berries", the young man chuckled, and Juushirou couldn't help but smile faintly at how familiar the words were.

"Yes", he said quietly. "They're quite good..."

The man grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

"You know", he said. "You remind me of an old playmate I've been looking for lately. He looked just like you. But younger, of course, we were just kids last time we met... His name was Ukitake Juushirou. I'm fairly certain you know who that is."

Juushirou chuckled and eyed the young man.

"That's a coincidence", he said. "I've been looking for an old playmate too. Looked just like a smaller version of you. His name was Kyouraku Shunsui."

The brown-haired youth laughed.

"Well, that's a drag", he grinned. "I've heard that boy's being forced to go to the Shinigami Academy. It looks like you're headed there too, so maybe you'll randomly bump into him along the way."

They looked at each other, both smiling knowingly, and soon (after Juushirou had checked his foot to make sure that nothing had happened) they were on their way, eagerly talking about what had happened during the past years.

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Juushirou stopped and looked into the forest, just watching the road. How many years had it been since he last came here? Far too long, he decided after a moment. Just too long. Now, he was a captain of the Gotei 13; so many years had gone since he entered at the Academy.

"Oi, Juu, it's creepy when you just stop and stare", a deep voice called. "Are we going, or do you want to stand here all night?"

He chuckled and walked up to Shunsui's side. His old best friend smiled and patted his shoulder, then calmly started to walk again. They had been doing this every second year ever since they entered the Gotei, the travel back to their families. That they did this together was mostly due to the fact that if only one went, the other would get very bored and probably wreck something (this was Juushirou's more delicate way of putting it when he explained to Nanao and his own two third seats why they both went). They had even started to shift a little bit; one year they'd visit Shunsui's family (which Shunsui hated, due to having to see his brother), and the next time they went they'd visit Juushirou's (which always had Juushirou exasperated due to how Shunsui would always exclaim that he was amazed at how Juushirou's parents were still alive). This year, it was time to visit the Ukitake-family. And sure enough, as soon as they came up to the house they heard two voices yell "Juu-nii!" and two girls came running, more or less throwing themselves at Juushirou, who laughed and caught them.

"Aya, Ayako", he chuckled. "Calm down, you'll choke me if you hug me harder than that!"

Shunsui smiled fondly. The twins Aya and Ayako were the only girls among Juushirou's siblings, and as a (from Shunsui expected) result, "Juu-nii" loved to spoil them. They were the ones who had been born a few months after Shunsui had met his friend for the first time.

"Hey", he said. "Are you just going to hug Juu? Am I air?"

The girls laughed happily and threw themselves at him as well, and he grinned and hugged them tightly. Throughout the years, Juushirou's father had stayed true to what he had said that day, and Shunsui had always been welcome and treated like a part of the family, which meant that to the younger Ukitake-siblings, he was "Shu-nii" or "Shun-chan" (Shunsui was still very certain about that the last nickname was entirely Juushirou's fault, and that the white-haired man was still smirking at him every time it was mentioned). Soon, Juushirou's mother Izumi came out. She smiled warmly at them both and hugged them, welcoming them both.

"You made it just in time for dinner", she said with a chuckle. "We were just about to sit down."

"I bet your son is thanking you from the depth of his soul right now", Shunsui said with a smile, ignoring how his friend started to pinch him. "He could probably devour the entire table on his own... Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, okay, I got the point! Ow! Juu, stop it! Ow!"

More laughter, and the rest of the siblings came running, all eager to meet their two big brothers. And just behind them came Juushirou's father, Satoshi, always with a warm smile on his face. As Juushirou was at the moment somewhat preoccupied with greeting his siblings, the old man went over to Shunsui first, calmly placing one hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you both could make it", he chuckled. "It's always good to have my sons back."

Shunsui smiled, happy with the familiarity and the informal greeting. It was so different from his own family, and a very welcome change.

"Don't be too familiar with him, father", Juushirou grinned as he finally managed to scoot the siblings over to greet Shunsui instead. "His lazy attitude probably comes from that!"

Shunsui sent him a playful "murderous" glare, but happily started to hug the little siblings. The youngest of them, the little brother Haruo, took his chance when Shunsui leaned down and climbed up on his back, settling on his shoulders. Shunsui just laughed.

"Am I a horse now", he asked and reached up to pat the boy on the head.

After a while, when the first commotion had died down, Izumi firmly told the two captains to leave their (admittedly fairly heavy) bags by the wall, and instead come and eat.

"You can take care of all that later", she said. "The food, however, won't last forever."

It was a lively dinner, as usual. And with eleven persons at the table, smaller "battles" for the food constantly occurred. Having eaten with the family so many times, Shunsui had become somewhat of an expert at keeping his food to himself. However, with Juushirou at his side, he was constantly challenged. The siblings laughed and squealed with delight as they saw how the two captains got into a fencing battle with their chopsticks over the last piece of fish on Shunsui's plate; Shunsui was admittedly rather full already, but he had no intention of giving up something on his plate without a fight. Expertly blocking Juushirou's attempts at stealing it, he quickly picked it up, only to have Juushirou suddenly grab his ear and pinch hard. He yelped and jerked back, a pure reflex to get away, and then blinked as he saw how Juushirou quickly leaned in and stole the fish from Shunsui's own chopsticks. He laughed along with everyone else at the table as Juushirou smirked at him and quickly swallowed the last piece.

"You're lucky I'm so full", Shunsui said and poked at Juushirou. "And that I still fail to remember that move. I don't know how I manage to forget that you have one hand free."

Juushirou gave him a faked sympathetic smile (which most likely would have been a triumphant smirk in any other situation) and patted him on the shoulder.

"You only have to fight me for food every now and then, not every day", he chuckled. "I'm still just glad that your poor vice-captain has never seen this."

And with that, Juushirou quickly lifted his rice-bowl, keeping it well out of reach from Ayako as she tried to take it. More laughter ensued as the younger twin decisively started to climb up in Juushirou's lap to grab the bowl, and as Juushirou was busy trying not to spill the rice and also keep his little sister away, Shunsui quickly took the bowl and leaned away. Both Juushirou and Ayako blinked, and before Shunsui even knew what was happening, he found himself trying to keep the rice away from the twins and his best friend. The only thing he hadn't counted on was that Aya would climb up on his back and grab his arm, quickly taking the bowl before jumping down again and giving it to her sister. Both Juushirou and Shunsui laughed, holding up their hands in a mock-surrender gesture.

"Ayako and I would make a great team as shinigami", Aya said proudly and sat down next to her sister. "If we can steal food from you that easily, then imagine what we could do in a fight!"

For a split second, Shunsui saw how the laughter died in Juushirou's eyes. But as if to comfort his friend, he leaned across and patted both Aya and Ayako on their heads.

"You wouldn't want that life", he said with a chuckle. "Besides, you'd worry Juu-nii. So if you ever became shinigami, you'd have to land in our squads, or we'd worry a lot about you."

He glanced quickly at his friend, seeing the smile come back to his face. Good. Situation avoided.

"But that reminds me", he suddenly said, slapping his hand to his forehead. "We promised we'd bring stories, didn't we, Juu? And we've got such an amazing story to tell you, about what happened just a short time ago!"

Juushirou's eyes sparkled with mirth, and he nodded eagerly.

"Thank you for reminding me", he said. "You're right; we've absolutely got to tell them about the ryoka!"

The siblings gasped and immediately started to ask questions, but they got hushed by their parents. Satoshi smiled and glanced at his dear wife.

"I believe Izumi would like us to help her clear the table first", he said. "Go on, brats, get going. The story can wait just a little while, until the table is clear, and we've all gotten something good to drink." As the two captains started to get up, he laughed and waved for them to sit down again. "You're guests, so do sit down. We'll be done in no time!"

After a while, they sat at the table again; Shunsui and Satoshi were both drinking sake, and Izumi had just finished pouring tea for everyone else. Juushirou sipped at his tea.

"Well", he said. "I believe Shunsui ought to start... I don't know what happened at the beginning, more than what I've been told. So go ahead, Shun."

Shunsui gave his friend a quick look at the nickname, got a grin as an answer, and then started to tell the story. He told them of the six persons who had arrived in Soul Society in order to rescue the young Kuchiki Rukia from being executed. He told them of how Jidanbou had been defeated by a mere boy (this made the children gasp), and of how Shiba Kuukaku had helped them and even sent her little brother with them. In vivid detail, he described the chaos that had been caused, and how everyone had been on edge. He told them, as well as he could, of what had happened to the ryoka after they had been split up (he felt rather glad that he had gotten a chance to talk to at least some of them; young Inoue had been happy to tell, as had that boy, Sado). As he told them of how he had fought with one of the ryoka, and explained the technique the boy had used, even Juushirou raised an eyebrow a little bit despite having heard it before; he still found it a bit strange. When he told them of how he had heard of Aizen's supposed death, they all gasped and stared. He continued with explaining that Zaraki Kenpachi had been defeated by the same boy who had defeated Jidanbou, which made them stare even more, and even made Satoshi interrupt.

"But", he whispered. "Everyone has heard stories about him... About how no one has ever been able to defeat him... And now you say that a mere boy managed to do it?"

Shunsui just smiled and nodded before continuing. He explained about how one ryoka with a shinigami "captive" had managed to arrive at the Shrine of Penitence, and then he stopped.

"Juu, why don't you tell them", he said with a smile. "You were there, after all."

Chuckling, Juushirou started to explain what had happened by the Shrine, and also continued to explain the rest, with some help from Shunsui. Everyone listened intently. When they had described the events at the Soukyoku and came to their battle with their old sensei, Izumi sent them a sharp look.

"You actually fought your sensei", she said quietly, and Juushirou winced slightly.

"We didn't have a choice, mother", he said. "Besides, it went well."

Another sharp look, and then he sighed and continued to explain the events. As they ended the story with explaining that the boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, now was a substitute shinigami, the siblings eagerly started to ask questions again.

The evening was, as always, pleasant. It ended with Shunsui telling the children a story he had heard when he was a small boy, around the time he had first met Juushirou (who was, at the moment, helping his mother to clear the table again). Smiling, the white-haired man listened to how his best friend's deep voice told the children about the princess who was not allowed to see her reflection in a mirror.

"The fortune-teller the king had sent for", Shunsui said, "told the king and the queen that their little daughter would grow up to be an amazingly beautiful young woman, and everything they wished for. 'But there is one danger, and that is vanity', said the old woman, 'so you must not allow anyone to tell her that she is beautiful, and she must not look in a mirror. Even those who will ask for her hand in marriage must tell her that she is hideous, no matter how hard it may be. But she must be allowed to marry the one she says yes to, and only then can you fill this castle with mirrors again.'"

Juushirou chuckled quietly and slowly stepped into the room, leaning against the wall as he watched and listened to how Shunsui told the children about how the princess had grown up believing that everyone had a reflection of a very beautiful girl in their eyes, and how she had finally decided to go away after all her suitors had said that she was ugly. And in a forest, she had met a girl with whom she talked.

"The girl told her that the road led to a house and a farm", Shunsui continued, smiling at how the children took in every word he said. "And she also said that there lived a boy who was soon going to marry. They swapped clothes, because the princess did not wish to be recognised, and soon, she was on her way again. But she got hungry, so she walked away from the road to search for edible berries among the trees, and soon she was lost. But while she cried over not being able to find her way back to the road, a boy walked up to her."

Juushirou smiled warmly and closed his eyes; this was all so familiar. The boy who talked to the princess, and then suddenly said that the boy at the farm was going to marry her, and that he was that boy. The princess's confusion and the boy's revelation that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"The boy then told her to look into his eyes", said Shunsui and smiled as he glanced at Juushirou. "'I don't have a mirror in my pocket', he said, 'but my eyes should do all the same.' The princess looked, and told him that it was just that usual little girl that everyone had in their eyes. And the boy laughed, and told her that when you look into someone's eyes, you will see your own reflection in them. And the princess stared and stared, surprised as she realised that it was really her face; that pale thin face, with those blood red lips and the large dark eyes..." He stopped for a moment, and then closed his eyes. "She began to smile, and then told him who she was. And the boy fell to his knees, kissed her hand and said, in shame, 'Forgive me, my lady, I did not know'... But the princess laughed and pulled him back up on his feet and kissed him. 'Don't speak like that', she said to him. 'We are going to marry, tomorrow already. My father has promised that I may take whoever I want as my husband, and he is always true to his word.' And she took his hand, and together they hurried towards the boy's farm."

Aya and Ayako sighed dreamily, and Juushirou took a few quiet steps and placed his hand on Shunsui's shoulder.

"You're good at telling stories", he chuckled. "But I think that's enough for now, it's getting late."

It didn't take long for them all to get to bed, and soon they were all fast asleep. But in the middle of the night, Shunsui woke up to an all too familiar sound. He frowned a little as he sat up, eyeing his old friend (whenever they visited Juushirou's family, they shared a room). Juushirou sat up, shaking as he coughed. Shunsui could hear the quiet steps outside the room, but he moved up behind Juushirou and gently made him lean back against him.

"Come on, Juu", he said softly. "It's okay... Breathe, slowly... That's it..."

Izumi slid the door open, smiling softly as she saw how Shunsui supported her son.

"Should I get something", she asked quietly, and Shunsui nodded quickly.

"Some tea, if it's alright", he replied. "He'll need to clear his breathing a bit, and he always says that tea helps."

A smile, and the old woman closed the door again and slipped away to the kitchen. Juushirou turned his head a little bit and smiled weakly at his old friend.

"I'm alright", he whispered hoarsely. "I-it's nothing... bad... Just c-coughing..."

Shunsui nodded.

"I know", he said. "If it wasn't just coughing, I would've noticed. Relax a little now, don't talk too much."

They sat there in silence, both knowing that they didn't have to speak. They had been friends for more than two thousand years, and they knew each other far too well; they didn't have to speak to know what the other was thinking. But soon, Shunsui spoke up anyway.

"To think that this all started with your curiosity", he murmured. "Your curiosity and my wish to have a playmate. Who knew that we'd actually go to the Academy together, and even become captains...?"

Juushirou chuckled, and coughed again.

"It was fate", he said. "What else could it have been, old friend?"


End file.
